Tottenham managed to grab a tense 1-0 win over Crystal Palace, thanks to a long ranger from Christian Eriksen. It looked like the title was slipping out of their reach, but somehow, the Lilywhites held on to grab 3 points. Talk about determination!
It was an important victory, considering that the team were dealt a heavy blow by Chelsea in the FA Cup semifinal last weekend. It was essential to beat Crystal Palace and come out of Selhurst Park with 3 points. That is exactly what has happened.
The focus will now surely be on the North London Derby on Sunday, which would potentially decide Tottenham’s strength as title contenders. On the other hand, Arsenal’s own fate would depend on the outcome of this game as well, as they continue to battle for a finish in the top-4.
Surely, Tottenham are set to finish above Arsenal for the first time since 1995, and this time around, even a slip-up from Spurs cannot help the Gunners’ cause.
Ahead of the big game, Pochettino has revealed Tottenham’s latest injury news after the Palace game and it doesn’t read well.
Midfield engine Mousa Dembele was withdrawn half-way in the game at Selhurst Park and now the boss has revealed that Dembele was taken off because he had twisted his ankle. However, the boss also said that Wanyama’s substitution was tactical.
Talking to the club’s official website after the game, he explained why he chose to introduce Moussa Sissoko and Heung-min Son at half time, Pochettino said,
“Mousa twisted his ankle and Victor had a yellow card and it was difficult for him. We needed to do something different to try to find the way to create chances, to dominate and win the game and it worked well. Sometimes, when you make changes and change the shape it doesn’t work, but this worked very well.”
Though the extent of the injury is not known, it would be safe to say the least, that Dembele is a doubt for the North London Derby.
The status of his injury will be known after an assessment and hopefully, it should be good news. Dembele is a vital cog in Tottenham’s midfield and we cannot afford to enter the game with Dembele unavailable.
